My Media Magazine EvaluationMarisa Ritson

1.In what ways does my media product use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of a real media product?

Here is a video of how two people from my target audience thought my contents page matched and rebelled

against the codes and conventions of a music magazine front cover…

Front Cover

I used Q’s title style as its eye catching and stands out on the page.

I developed Q’s sticker advertising what is inside the magazine, but instead of advertising an artist, I was announcing an improved weekly feature.

I used the convention of Q’s and any other magazine by adding a barcode, date, issue number and further information based on the company.

Front Cover

I used and followed Q’s convention and added a quote from my main article to reveal some exciting content to the audience.

I developed Q’s technique of listing content inside the magazine, however I changed this slightly to featured artists and added borders to keep with house style and strengthen my colour scheme.

I decided between NME and Q that I would use Q as my main style model so I used Q’s colour scheme of black and red as well as it being a neutral colour for most audience types.

Front CoverI used the conventions from the front page image of Q and replicated them in my magazine.

I used a close up/medium close up

I used a facial expression of the artist reflecting the main article.

I used eye contact

No text overlapping the face of the image on either front covers.

Front CoverI used some of NME magazines conventions as I needed to get as many music magazine conventions into my own.

The first thing I used and developed from NME to my magazine was a strapline. I changed the advertisement to focus on my magazine Vertigo.

I also used the idea of text boxes from Q so my magazine didn’t look cluttered, I then advertised a current TV programme with new music featured to relate to the type of magazine I created.

Contents PageWhen researching for influence for my contents page I decided that I would purely use Q as my style model, continuing to use the theme of white red and black.

I used the strapline with the title ‘contents’, issue number and logo then I developed this and added the date and magazine website.

I used the convention of large page numbers next too images to show the content they relate too.

Contents PageAs well as replicating and following the layout of Q contents page I then replicated and developed there subheading for the contents page.

I kept the title features and used it in my own magazine

I also kept regulars and used it in my own magazine

I then changed ‘Q Review’ and adapted it to fit in with my magazine as I liked the idea and reviews are often a key convention of music magazines.

Contents Page

I have highlighted my subheading in red like on Q magazine to try and replicate their clear layout.

I have used both bold and regular text like Q as I found there contents page easy to read and I used there techniques in hope of getting the same effect.

Contents Page

Both Q Magazine and My Magazine Volume, have there main artist image on the front cover, on there contents page in a similar style.

Double Page Spread

I used the music magazine convention from Q by using a drop capital on my article.

House Style Colour Scheme of Black White and Red.

I followed another convection of Q by keeping the image and text on separate sides of the page so the article is easier to read and the image doesn’t become a distraction.

Double Page SpreadI used the quote boxes from Q as they are a regularly used convention of a DPS and they brake up the text creating an easier read

I challenged the positioning of the title and put my title on the opposite side as I felt the article was pretty self explanatory where as the image needed an introduction and I feel that moving the title to the image page made the article look more balanced.

I also challenged the typical style of article Q have, however in general music magazines can have Q/A interviews and I felt this would be an easier and more interesting read.

Double Page SpreadI followed the conventions of Q relating to house style and kept my ‘V’ logo on to my next page which was my main article.

I followed the conventions of most music magazines and Q by adding a caption to my main image explaining what its purpose is.

2.How does my media product represent particular social groups?

First of all I took a short video of two people who I would class in my target audience talking about my DPS and its

relevance to social groups

Front Cover - Age

New Releases in Music and New Trends. Targeted at a late teenage audience as that is the type of age that tend to be most up to date and this is reflected in the new music.

Holidays and Festivals are also another thing that often appeal to young people at the age where they are just leaving school.

Made In Chelsea is a fairly recent programme on the TV and the reality series attracts a lot of young viewers so having this featuring to support an upcoming band targets the 16-20 range very well

I chose a 17 year old attractive model for my front cover which is within the age of the target audience I aimed for adding to the list of references to youth on my front cover.

Front Cover – Ethnic Minority GroupsMy magazine is aimed very generally and I have tried my best to include a variety of cultural minorities.

Firstly by reviewing a Jamaican festival this is interesting and including wide span of ethnicity's as Jamaica is a country of a wide diversity with English, Indian, Hispanic, West Indian, African, Latino and Ladino .

On my lists of artists I have a wide variety of artists from different ethnic backgrounds including Barbados, America and England. With diverse style changes from black American rappers to British indie bands.

Front Cover - SexualityI tried to keep the attitude to different sexuality's mutual

I featured programmes such as Made in Chelsea which feature both homosexual and heterosexual characters to keep a wider audience interested.

I used artists that where both attractive to the male and female and kept a mix of genres so my front cover wasn’t biased.

Front Cover – Class & StatusThe mention of Jamaica suggests some geographical knowledge and someone from a working class background with possible materials to go and visit and to show a realistic interest.

In contrast this gossip news suggest those from a student background as this type of thing often relates to that group, as well as this the magazine featuring a classy talented artist which will encourage the working class to buy the magazine

Featuring a programme like Made in Chelsea filmed in some of the most wealthy areas of the country may attract working class audiences as they aspire to be from a similar background and can relate more.

Finally the affordable price of £2.75 and the wide variety of topics expressed suggest that this magazine is open to people of a variety of classes as long as they show an interest to upcoming artists and enjoy reading about music.

Front Cover - Gender

Trying to appeal to both genders and attract both male and female by featuring male and female artists making it as equal as possible.

I chose the colour scheme of black, red and white as these three colours are all neutral and are not often used to connate a specific sex.

Contents - AgeA variety of young people have been photographed on the contents page and they are all between 16-20, which is my aimed target audience, meaning they will be able to relate to the content. Down this colunm

there is a lot of references to ‘fresh’ and ‘new music’ which fits in with the a young, modern audience.

Some simple vocabulary and slang words such as ‘Lads’ are used and this suggests that the magazine has been written for a youthful audience as they are using new, current words that perhaps older generations or really young generations aren't familiar with.

The mention of sites like Facebook and twitter are very much associated and dominated by young social people which are in the target audience for this magazine and incentives like that is what attract them to it.

Contents – Ethnic Minority Groups

All images I took where of white British models and this may look like I was trying to exclude other ethnic groups, this was not done deliberately.

The V View however introduces artists from different ethnic backgrounds such as black American Nicki Minaj, and festivals are advertised in countries like Jamaica half way across the world.

The language used in the regulars bar is completely neutral and revolves around the readers opinions and views so this section of the contents page is open to all ethnic groups and doesn’t exclude any of my target audience.

Contents - SexualityI have not tried to aim this page at either a homosexual or heterosexual audience, so I have stuck to the content which is music based.

I have made sure I have distributed the male and female ratio as evenly as possible by displaying two male models and two female models and I have not mentioned sexuality when doing so, keeping the magazine open to both audiences.

Arguably the male artists fit in with some of the stereotypes to a homosexual male in the way they dress and present them selves and may attract more of a homosexual male audience.

Where as for the female models I have two typically female heterosexual models which may not appeal to a homosexual female audience.

Contents – Class & Status

The main image and the image on the bottom right both give of connotations of high class with grand colours and civilised photography with rich golden colours and neat clothing

Features and Regulars give off different suggestions to class and status. Features suggests middle and working class where as Regulars suggests a more laid back student audience and perhaps an inexperienced un independent young audience, with basic vocabulary, entertaining gossip news and puzzles in contrast to the complex vocabulary and strictly musical content displayed in the features section.

Contents - Gender

The content reveals an equal amount of female and males displayed in the images suggesting that the audience is unisex as the content relates to both genders.

The use of black and white and colour show diversity and accounting for the stereotypical liking of bright colours to a female audience and the black and white more grim stereotype attached to a male audience.

This page has an equal number of male and female artists accounting to both genders keeping a large audience and the content balanced.

Again the same colours white red and black are used which don’t add obvious connotations to either of the genders keeping the magazine looking neutral and appealing to both genders.

DPS - Age

Mis-en-scene in this image really relates to a late teenage audience with props like alcohol triggering interest.

The gossip element to this article really appeals to a younger audience as it isn’t ‘boring’ and with large quotes breaking up the text this is ideal for a teenage audience.

With the Q/A split up into small sections it is obvious that this wouldn’t appeal to an older generation with lots of brief exciting questions for a younger educated audience who are interested in both musical and personal articles.

DPS – Ethnic Minority Groups

My DPS is based on one white American artist so not a lot of flexibility and inclusion of different ethnic minorities is really possible with the focus on one artist.

DPS – Class & Status

This image insinuates a lower and working class audience as taboo subjects are visible in the image such as smoking and drinking.

Small quotes and language not relating to musical content suggest a lower or working class audience as the article isn't purely educational and cultural, tackling issues such as bad press and .unacceptable behaviour in public.

The introduction and conclusion however contain some complicated vocabulary and strictly musical information which may appeal to an upper class audience.

DPS - Gender

Keeping the article with a mixture between gossip often favoured by a female audience, and then references to concerts, bad behaviour and music often more favoured by a male audience I have tried to create an article appealing to both genders.

The image is of an attractive female artist which may be appealing to male audience and also to a female audience to relate too as I am trying to keep this magazine as equally balanced to male and female as possible.

I have kept the neutral colour scheme of red, white and black to make sure the magazine doesn’t look either feminine or masculine and sways one audience more than the other.

3.What kind of media institution might distribute my media product

and why?

Marketing and Advertisement

Local radio would be ideal to advertise my magazine as it features up and coming music each week, so I feel my magazine should be advertised on national radio, like radio 1 on programmes like ‘artists we trust’ to get new names recognized.

My magazine Volume should have a slot in MTV hits breaks, as this channel attracts people up for listening to new releases and this is the type of music that is updated weekly in Volume magazine and the artists would probably be very similar.

Online viral marketing campaigns would be very effective for my magazine as I have included twitter and Facebook links already in the magazine and with the sharing of pages more and more people would start to recognize my magazine and it would eventually become more well known and popular.

Distribution Volume Magazine revolves around the new and upcoming UK music industry, new and upcoming music is different in each country and it would be too ambitious to distribute my magazine internationally although it does contain artists from out of the UK.

I’d mainly distribute using main music venues in the UK such as the 02 academy's in selected placed round the UK and various arenas such as the metro radio arena.

Who I would use to distribute my magazine

“NME.COM brings you the latest music news and reviews, music videos and gossip, as well as providing the hottest concert tickets and band memorabilia.”Main features of my magazine are new music, reviews and gossip which are all included in NME.

NME are compatible with the same things that are featured in my magazine and they have a radio station, TV station and a magazine to distribute my magazine. As well as being sponsors for numerous artists and supporting music venues round the UK like the 02 academy's.

4.Who would the audience be for my media product and Why?

Firstly here is a video of two people I would consider in the target audience,

discussing my front cover and who they think the audience would be…

This is a stereotype of what they would look like…

• Fashionable• Edgy• Female and Male• Heterosexual and Homosexual• Keep up with latest trends• Arty• Students• Older Teenagers

Defining my target audience

I would have my target age between 16 – 20 because…•Late stages of education, content consists of things to do for these age groups such as gigs and festivals. This is the age group that often take years away and out of education before work. Wither finishing, a degree, a levels or GCSE’S.•The models in my magazine are all in the target age group I have set meaning the audience can relate to the images and see similarities in them as the artists are also youth full and fresh.•Gossip and some off topic from music content is revealed which wouldn’t be enjoyed by an audience too young as they wouldn’t understand and an audience older than 20 would have lost interest and probably grown out of gossip interest making 16-20 the ideal age.

Defining my target audience

Gender and Sexuality for my magazine is not biased it is aimed to be unisex and a comfortable read for both the heterosexual and the homosexual…•I have used both male and female models to ensure that my magazine has an even balance of both genders•The colour scheme of red, black and white doesn’t clearly reflect either the male or the female and is a very neutral and mutual colour to both sexes not causing my magazine to appear as biased towards a particular sex.•I have included a festival reviews and reality TV mentions to create contrast and fit in with male and female stereotypes to make sure there are obvious appeals for each gender

Defining my target audience

My magazine mainly stoops towards students and working class rather than upper class…•Taboo subjects are mentioned frequently, with swearing and slang used through out•Rowdy festivals and Beach holidays are also mentioned appealing to those wanting less exotic rare holidaysHowever Upper Class audience is still achievable..•Wide range of vocabulary is used with some strictly musical content•As well as luxurious colours being used on the content page in the bottom right image with educational content.

5.How did I attract/address my audience?

Target AudienceResearch

I wrote out a questionnaire and asked many people in my media class and people around sixth form to get a wide variety of answers to my questions to do with my magazine.

I then videoed and interviewed a few people from my target audience asking them for there opinions on music magazines to help inspire me when creating my own, you can see this video on my blog.

Once I had collected enough information and research from my target audience I put my results into charts and graphs so I could visually see what was popular and then decide how I was going to act upon it.

Included in my Magazine

Q/A or Question to a

particular answer or the most

popular article types

Personal Information in an article is most popular

Lana Del Ray is preferred over Pete Doherty

Blocky contents is preferred over an image dominated contents page

One image is the most popular number of images for the front cover

Grey Scale Is the preferred colour style for my magazine

Less images are preferred to more

Leeds Fest Tickets where the most popular incentive

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Rough Cut Feedback Front Cover

The colour pink may be too feminine… So I changed the dominant colour to red…

Use different Fonts… Got rid of the italics, added more bolds, regulars and different sizes…

Some text cut off… Made sure all text was inside the margin…

No strap Line… I added a strap line to the top of the page…

No Consistency… Set exact font sizes, made sure everything was aligned…

Looks too much like a fashion magazine…

Got rid of page numbers, added more musical content…

Rough Cut Feed Back Contents

Bullet Points/ plus box Don’t fit it with consistency…

Got rid of bullet points and plus box, took another look at the style model and created THE V VIEW…

Too much festival Information…Deleted the festival section and replaced it with REGULARS just like in Q…

No page numbers on images…Added page numbers to images…

To much black and white photography…

Kept one black and white image then took two relating images to the content in colour to give the content page a balance of colour and greyscale…

Rough Cut Feed Back DPS

Bold Larger Font Needed…

Made the title larger and bold, made the quotes clearer by getting rid of italics, enlarging and making bold…

Name Of Interviewer…

Added name of interviewer to the caption on the image…

Need a page number…

Added a page number…

Layout not conventional and drop capital looks out of proportion…

Changed the layout to half and half so it was more balanced, and edited the shape of the drop capital as well as making 3 columns like the typical conventions suggests…

DPS Article

The article is split up into a number of Q/A with gossip related content and taboo subjects I would say this article hits student and lower classes at some points.

However the Introduction to the article and the conclusion both use a lot of musical content and a wide range of vocabulary which I would target at a working to upper class audience so this article has a lot of variety, I have made it so diverse so that it will attract more readers.

Overall Message of My magazine

You won’t fall behind on the latest new releases and trending chart music

You will keep up to date and in the know with celebrity, music gossip

You’ll be in the know for up coming gigs, ticket releases, re –releases of tickets.

Participate in all free quizzes and trials the prizes are very rewarding

6.What have you learned about technologies from the process of

constructing this product?

Photography

Lens rotated left and right to zoom and focus camera.

Rotate button to select the appropriate setting for example, manual, auto, sports or portrait.

Should be another button located round the back of the camera with a flash symbol to activate flash, if you want to turn off the flash just press the light down.

Aperture and shutter speed are used by rotating a dial on the camera left and right by making them faster or quicker to delay the time in taking the photo which makes the image softer and often blurred or by taking the picture faster and making the image look sharper.

Framing Shots

Rule of Thirds. Get the most significant piece of the image in the three middle horizontal squares.

Give image a sense of depth and layers by framing a shot and focusing on something in the foreground

Shot Distances

Used close up/mid close up to see and understand the facial expression.

Two shot to show the stance and expression of two people at the same time.

Establishing shot to establish character(s) and the mis-en-scene around them.

Lighting

I often took photos outside meaning the natural light was enough to take the photo and I didn’t need added light or light reflectors to have the light hit in the correct place.

Then with indoor shots like this, with rooms that don’t have much light, I needed to bring in extra light on tripod and move the positioning of a light shield (an umbrella) to make sure the light hits in the right direction when taking the image.

Photo ShopBrightening and Contrasting a Photo

Creating A BlogTo demonstrate how to make a blog I will make a new one once I had signed onto www.blogger.com and signed in using a Gmail account click ‘New Blog’

A Pop up will come up, make a title and a blogger address them select the style of blog you want before pressing ‘create blog!’

Once It was created select ‘new post’ in the top left corner to add and create a post.

Write a title for the blog in the title section and then all the information in the big blank space.

To add an image or a video select the image or video tab on the tool bar.

Once you’ve finished the post click save and it will appear on your blog.

Making a PowerPoint

To do my evaluation on power point I have been using animation, print screens, video clips, different colours and shapes to make the power point effective.

7.Looking back at my preliminary task, what do I feel I have learnt in progression from it to the full

product?

Preliminary Task -Rough Cut - Final Task

How I’ve improved

I can see a massive difference in my work from my prelim to my final draft of my music magazine.Skills I developed…•Consistency with text/font•Image sizes, proportion•Cutting images out•Navigating in design and Photoshop

How it helped me

• The preliminary task allowed me to realize that time management was very important with media and that I needed to be organised and not leave things till deadline day.

• It helped me use the SLR cameras and master which shots where appropriate for which pages and the settings to take these photo’s in.

• It gave me practice on adobe soft wear so I was far quicker at it when I went back to try and use it in the future.